UA freshman rising through racing world

Ever since he was a kid, Garrett Van Knill has had the need for speed. The problem for the 10-year-old speedster was knowing how to control it.

Nearly a decade later, the UA freshman is now 19 and on the starting line of a career in racing. He's also on the fast track toward the NASCAR circuit.

It all began with that first intoxicating lap around the track, racing quarter-midget cars. [Read article]

Do-everything senior thrives despite handful of serious injuries

In the world of sports, injuries leave many athletes wondering what might have been.

On the Arizona softball team, Wendy Allen is such a player.

A senior who plays first base, designated player and pitcher, Allen has been significantly limited by injuries her whole college career.

While playing soccer in high school, she blew out three major ligaments in one of her knees. During her freshman year at Ohio State, she discovered she had wrist tendinitis while pitching a game. [Read article]

To the victor go the spoils.

Fresh off its five-stroke victory at the 2004 Pacific 10 Conference Men's Golf Championships, the UA swept the league's postseason honors as Chris Nallen was named Pac-10 Golfer of the Year Henry Liaw was named Freshman of the Year, and coach Rick LaRose was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year in voting by the Pac-10 men's golf coaches.

Nallen, a senior from Hackettstown, N.J., is a three-time first-team all-Pac-10 selection and a finalist for the 2004 Ben Hogan Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate golfer. He has won three tournaments this year and has posted four other top-five finishes. Nallen has a stroke average of 69.92 this season, on pace for a school record with the possibility of becoming the first Wildcat to average less than 70 strokes per round for a season. [Read article]

Wildcats play prominent role on new Tucson major league softball team, the Arizona Heat

It might be easy to confuse the Arizona Heat and the Arizona Wildcats. But the familiarity between the nation's top college softball team and the new Tucson pro softball team hardly ends with their shared location.

The Arizona Heat ÷ the Tucson entry in the revamped National Pro Fastpitch league ÷ features a handful of former Wildcats. This includes manager Stacy Iveson and a group of other former UA players: Heat poster girl and UA acting associate head coach Nancy Evans, UA assistant coach Lisha Ribellia, Leah Braatz, Amy Hillenbrand and Alison McCutcheon. The prospective roster also boasts a pair of current Wildcats in seniors Mackenzie Vandergeest and Wendy Allen. [Read article]